Gatans Lag - Turister

Gatans Lag - Turister (Swe) (Transl. Tourists)

From the compilation "Turist i Tillvaron" (2012)

(transl. Tourists in Existence)

It´s about Hipsters

Dropkick Murphys - The Boys are Back (New Single)

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2012/12/song-premiere-the-dropkick-murphys---the-boys-are.html


Dropkick Murphys new single "The Boys are Back" on a sneakpreview at Paste Magazine.

Review - Iggy and The Stooges at Gröna Lund

At Gröna Lund, Stockholm Aug 10 2012

The Event

Iggy Pop often together with Lou Reed given credit as the Grandfathers of punk, was in town, last night on the amusement park Gröna Lund, a place that have seen many classic rock and punk bands onstage.  I´ve seen Iggy a couple of times. He has been brilliant, less brilliant and one time surrounded by a terrible band being a let down. Tonight he was back at Gröna Lund where he have been a busy visitor. I think I´ve seen him twice there before. And one of them was really a terrible experience.
This time he brought his old band, the Stooges. James Williamson have replaced Ron Asheton on guitars since he passed away in 2009. And it is logical because James replaced Ron in the 1970ies during the heroin years. James was Iggy´s and drummer Scott Ashetons (Ron´s Brother) drug pal so he took over the axe and Ron was to play bass replacing the Dave Alexander that got fired after being too drunk to play (!). Mike Watt and Steve MacKay are now in the band as well.

Iggy and the added value of the Stooges was a good reason to see the spectacle.


The Crowd

Everyone was there. The Swedish rock journalist (Swedish Television) Per Sinding Larsen claimed, on Facebook, there was 15 000 people trying to see Iggy and the Stooges. Note that Bob Marley´s unbreakable 1980 crowd record counting 32 000 visitors is legendary. 15 000 was an incredible and likely number of people it was paced! There were people everywhere. And I recognized half of them, haha. Everyone was there.

The Crowd might been big, but a bit stiff, not as vivid and lively as the Dropkick Murphy´s crowd at the same place a two month earlier.

The Band
Iggy and the Stooges

They couldn´t hardly walk. Iggy and bass player limping like some wounded wildebeest. But when they were there, on stage, they delivered one hell of a rock show.

What strikes me with most old rock, blues and punk legends is the lack of aggression in their playing in later years. Eric Clapton, Mick Jones gone soft by the years. Compare the solo´s played by Clapton when he was God and today you will get what I am after here. The Stooges and the Sex Pistols are exceptions. The Stooges proved last night that they still know how to be bad ass. Behaving like the mad man he is, Iggy is still going strong even if is 65 of age. OK, not as wild as during the crazy years, but still much more than most rockers and punk singers do together. The Bass player Mike Watt behaving like a drunk in a minefield, hilarious! The sax player Steve MacKay playing as mean on saxophone as John Zorn. After starting with three well known numbers, “Raw Power”, “Search and Destroy”, “Gimme Danger” the set slowly turn into a punk jazz festival with unpredictable jazz punk as in the early years, in the end of the sixties. With James Williamson in the band it is a guarantee the songs from his era in the band are played such as “Beyond the Law”, “Johanna”, “Shake Appeal” (with the crowd invited on stage) and “Kill City”, “Johanna” and “Beyond the Law” much faster and harder than on the original records.

Best songs? Well it would be easy to say all of them. But I think I choose Kill City, at least it made me get going.

One non Stooges song was in the repertoire, Iggy Pop´s  classic hit “Passenger”.  As well as Stooges classics as “No Fun”, “Cock in Pocket”, “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell”, “1970” among more songs. Note that such brilliant songs “1969”, “Down on the Street” and “TV Eye” wasn´t played.


Worth the money?

With the “Grönan kortet”, a season card a 199SKr (20 Euros) I got to see all the concerts and free admission to the amusement park all season. I have already seen Dropkick Murphy´s (didn´t see Jimmy Cliff) and still the Hives left to see.  So that is a totally yes on that on that question, it was like  winning on the lottery, all this for this small amount of money? This was one of the better concerts this summer. Not top three but good enough.

As you might read, I complain about how the Grönan stage is an act killer, Not last night, Iggy knew how to both get a  good sound and put on a great show.

Review - Social Distortion at Cirkus, Stockholm aug 7 2012

This review is about the first of the two night´s Social Distortion and guests performed at Cirkus in Stockholm, Aug 7 2012.



The Event

As Social Distortion´s frontman and singer Mike Ness point out during the concert. That this indoor gig was a most welcome break in the summer festival circuit. It seems like Social Distortion preferred the old wooden building before rain leaking festival tents. As support act they got one Swedish punk legend and one young Swedish band on the rise.
After Rancid´s and Street Dogs fabulous concerts this summer it seems like unfair for the band´s to compete with that. But they had to. That is one of the thing Rock n Roll is about, to convince the crowd that they are the best.

The Location

Cirkus was built in 1890ies to host the circus companies in the Stockholm city. Since then it have been an atmospheric stage for artist like Bob Dylan,  As well as Tv Shows.

With the retro style that Social Distortion often play around with, it seems like the perfect location for Social Distortion to perform. As a crowd you get pretty close to the band anywhere you are placed.

But there is a bit of problem with that arrangement, the seats on the grandstand makes people sit and watch more than to be partying. For an acoustic set it would be great. For a rock n roll band with its roots in punk it isn´t optimal.

The bars however were pretty fast in serving beer thirsty visitors.

The Crowd

Social D have always been a tattoo studio music in Sweden. This night it was too obvious, I can´t imagine one open tattoo studio in the whole country this Tuesday. Everyone must been traveling to Cirkus. All look like they came straight out of LA Ink Tv show or something or the gym. Possibly too cool and macho to join a mosh pit or sing along? I mean there are plenty of easy sung chorus to sing along to in SD´s music.

It is the bad thing tonight, the crowd. The party mood I was in was slowly decaying with the sit as statue mood ruled the seated section. My Godess, what I wish I got a front row ticket. But there wasn´t much of movement there as well. A few tried however. Mike crowned the Sweden the best Rock n Roll country in Europe, “But Rock n Roll isn’t about the head, he said, it´s about moving your hips. Mikes irony seem to pass way over the most of the crowd. I can spell it out for you if you didn´t got it, Start to fucking dance you lot! (my note).  

As an art school buddy I run into in the bar, nowday´s a tattoo artist, point out (no kidding), there are some tough guys in the audience tonight, bikers and people that are into vintage American cars. Possibly all of them with a kevlar west under their Soc D and De Palma T-shirts and jackets (my note). You can call it a new breed of Raggare, not hostile to punks like the older ones, but still with that stiff kind of macho manner. Not really punks but still into it a bit.

The Bands

Alonzo & Fas 3

Alonzo & Fas 3. Micke Alonzo was one of two singers in one of Sweden´s first punk bands, KSMB. One of two bands that even got pretty big in the main stream as well. With his second band Stockholms Negrer he challanged the racists and the white power movment. Micke himself told me once that those day´s where crazy. 2012 saw the birth of his new support band Fas 3, something like a Swedish Punk All Star Team or something. With members from The Hellacopters and International Noise Conspiracy.

Before their set I spoke briefly with Alonzo about how he felt about it. And I learned that you never get the answer you think you will get from him. Micke was worried about his voice, would it last for two nights in a row? Micke is no singer, never was, he yells and screams and almost growls with anger through the classic KSMB and Stockholms Negrer´s songs.

The voice was no problem this first night. Possible did he left some voice for the following night. The band was accompanied with Nicke Hellacopter that was missing when I saw them at Gothenburg´s West Coast Riot. And Nicke Andersson did secure the sound qualliry. It might sound´s a bit rediculous but I think with Nicke in the band it has a better sound. Unfortionately the set was too short and they push three new songs proving that Alonzo isn´t in it for the nostalgia. The new songs like “Dansa som en fjäril”and “Jag vill ha ett meningsfullt liv” are good, but they can´t give me the chill like the older KSMB songs do. There are so many memories associated with KSMB. From the years when I was as well as the punk itself was young. When you have to watch out for hostile Raggare (50ies style rockers) on your way to the punk concerts.

“Tidens tempo”, “Atomreggae” (Aka Harrisburg) and “Klockan 8” was the KSMB songs performed. And I wouldn’t mind some more KSMB and I think the rest of the crowd wouldn´t mind some more of it as well.



Royal Republic

Royal Republic are much younger than Alonzo. And to be honest, I planned to sneak down to the bar during their set, but was kept there by curiosity. And what I saw wasn´t bad, tight and competent. much more raw and heavy than on record. I am no fan of their “Tommy Gun” song. After a few of their songs the was an certain urge for a beer. I better give them a better chance another time.

Social Distortion

I´ve been waiting a long time to see the So-Cal band.
To say that Social Distortion play´s punk isn´t correct, they got their roots in punk, just like The Clash had. Maybe to remind us about that, clash was the music they played while we were waiting for them to come on stage. Today SD are more like a regular Rock n Roll band with both some Country, Blues, Gospel and Folk music as inspiration. Still it is their punk songs that are the best, “Far Behind”, “Reach for the sky”, “Mummy´s little Monster” and “So far away” are classics. Over all, they surprised me a bit with playing a much harder and punkier set than I expected, “Cold Feelings” was one of the highlights. The Crowd seems to like “Story of My life” a lot. I knew there wasn´t going to be any “You can´t take it with you” when there wasn´t any black girls on stage, the great backing singers that he brought on last year European tour. But “Bakersfield” from the same last record “Hard Time and Nursery Rhymes”  was a perfect piss pause song, it´s not one of their best, so I sneaked away for a leak.

It is possible that I´ve seen a bit too many good concerts lately and that may be the cause that I don´t get the chill through their regular set. It is perfect but it doesn´t touch me. In the encores however “Reach For the Sky” semi acoustic gave me a bit of a shiver down my spine. And the closing Johnny Cash cover “Ring of Fire” was brilliant as expected. A bit disappointed that I didn´t got to hear the Hank Williams cover “Alone and Forsaken”.

As a last word I must say that the back drop was one of the coolest I ever seen, so Social Distortion, so right. The lightning was beautifully applied on their set.


Worth the money? 450Skr=45 Euros is OK, I wouldn´t missed it for anything in the world, but if it had been cheaper I would seen them the two dates I Stockholm.  

Michel Wenzer + Crass = True

Swedish composer and director Michel Wenzer and the classic Brittish punk band Crass in a collaboration at Swedish Rock and Film Festival Way Out West. August 2012 will Michel Wenzer´s dream come true. The uncompromising anarcho punk band that was on it´s height in the mid 80ies as one of the developer of the anarcho crust scene will be an interessting blend of artistic expressions.

Michel Wenzer won the Swedish film prize "Guldbaggen" for the best documentary, "At night I Fly" 2012.


Notable happening from this blog´s point of wiev at WOW will be Kraftwerk, Billy Bragg, Blur, Refused and a film about Bad Brains.

http://www.wayoutwest.se/en

http://www.expressen.se/noje/punknostalgi-och-wenzer-pa-wow/

Zuga . Köttgrottorna at Snövit

The Swedish trall punk legends Köttgrottorna 

plays their classic ironic song Zuga about the frustration 

of not being able to suck ones own dick at Snövit, Stockholm.